It's that time of year again, when the two BBC channels are showing Wimbledon coverage for most of the afternoon. And who can blame them? It's not like the BBC shows sport all that often, and when they do, it's often a long wait until the event returns (such as the Olympics) or it's not the event in full (like with lots of football). It's the same with snooker, I suppose.
Personally, despite being no good at it, I quite like tennis. It's one of those interesting sports, with lots of jargon that has an interesting backstory behind it (deuce? love?), as well as an interesting counting system (15, 30, 40?) It's also not a team sport, which makes it even better - only you are in control of how you play.
Either way, the BBC will be broadcasting Wimbledon for long hours of the day for the next two weeks, and understandably, not everyone would be delighted by that. Not everyone likes tennis or their favourite programs might not air. I would selfishly prefer the French Open, not Wimbledon, to be broadcast by the BBC, but then again, I shouldn't mind - having any sport available on free to air TV is good enough for me. When broadcasters such as Sky, BT and Amazon buy out the rights to sport followed by millions of people in the UK, such as football and cricket, and put it behind a paywall, I find it more reassuring that events such as Wimbledon can be watched by anyone (as long as they have a TV) and not pay over the odds to watch the matches in person in the rain with lengthy delays. If anything, it also means more people are likely to pick up the sport as they can watch it and perhaps admire the tennis players who turn the game into a spectacle of sorts.
Perhaps I'm biased - tennis can also turn into a lengthy game, at which point, the player's endurance can become more important than their skill. I don't often watch tennis matches from start to finish. But at least the option is there if I want it, and I will happily be watching some of Wimbledon over the next two weeks because at least I don't have to pay loads to watch the match in the stadium or, alternatively, line the pockets of some broadcaster. And who knows? Maybe I'll start playing in my spare time as well.
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